The fastest growing jobs and industries through 2023

Employment News

Feb 4, 2019

Even in a good economy, with significant job growth and high employment, there are shifts that favor some industries over others. According to a recent Careerbuilder study, this means good news and bad news for the U.S. job scene between now and 2023.

First, the bad news: middle-wage jobs (like customer service representatives, maintenance workers, construction workers, or truck drivers, for some examples) are not expected to keep pace with high-wage jobs (like nurses, accountants, and IT specialists) and low-wage jobs (like home health aides, retail sales, and receptionists), which are both poised for serious growth. The study identified 121 jobs that will decline in growth between 2018 and 2023, and 75 of those jobs were considered middle-wage.

But now the good news: these high- and low-wage fields are about to experience significant growth, meaning millions of job openings–approximately 8 million by 2023. Let’s look at some of the industries in the study, divided by high-, mid-, and low-wage job types.

Fastest growing jobs

Fast-Growing Occupations By Wage Category

Jobs Added, 2018-2023

% Change, 2018-2023

Median Hourly Pay

High-Wage

Registered Nurses

255,047

8.39%

$33.55

Software Developers, Applications

143,466

15.57%

$48.49

Postsecondary Teachers

110,955

7.25%

$33.53

Accountants and Auditors

86,079

6.02%

$32.33

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

83,187

12.60%

$30.21

Computer User Support Specialists

54,044

7.48%

$24.16

Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

43,625

8.58%

$23.72

Middle-Wage

Customer Service Representatives

120,673

4.21%

$15.88

Medical Assistants

102,274

14.51%

$15.62

Construction Laborers

92,182

6.56%

$14.73

Maintenance and Repair Workers, General

83,931

5.41%

$18.08

Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses

55,345

7.34%

$21.56

Light Truck or Delivery Service Drivers

48,837

5.12%

$15.04

Billing and Posting Clerks

44,283

8.59%

$17.85

Low-Wage

Home Health Aides

207,732

22.42%

$11.17

Waiters and Waitresses

146,281

5.49%

$10.01

Retail Salespersons

108,229

2.37%

$11.29

Cooks, Restaurant

100,664

7.46%

$12.06

Nursing Assistants

96,384

6.33%

$13.23

Security Guards

61,964

5.12%

$12.97

Receptionists and Information Clerks

69,461

6.29%

$13.70

Trends in hiring over the next 5 years

If you’re in a field that’s expected to decline, this news can be dismaying for your career outlook. However, it’s also a great time to take stock of your career goals and your near future, and decide whether you’re able to adapt your skills to be more industry-flexible, or whether you’d like to change careers altogether to maximize your job potential.

Healthcare

Healthcare is one of the fields that is exploding now, and is likely to continue growing at a very fast pace for the foreseeable future.The healthcare field is popular because with a growing population (especially one that skews older and more in need of medical care), the need will continue to grow. But healthcare is also one of the most innovative fields, with digital equipment and recordkeeping requiring ever more tech-literate employees.

Technology

As everything becomes more technology-focused, more and more companies will need dedicated tech teams and services to provide the digital infrastructure necessary to do business. People with IT expertise and skills will find themselves in demand in many different fields and companies. Having a flexible skill set that’s technologically advanced can help guarantee a spot in the digital jobs boom over the next several years.

Data Analysis

Everything comes down to data these days, from marketing and customer service to accounting and financial data. This is also an area where a strong set of analytical and problem-solving skills can be applied across different industries, in different roles.

Basically, the professional future is flexibility–if you’re willing to develop future-facing skills to go along with your education and experience base.